What are the best batteries these days?

Posted by aufybusiness@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 11 comments

Don't buy them often now with things being rechargeable. Got a couple of torches and thought, with everything else going shitification, how's the duracel . Ta

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11 Comments

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Sudden_Accountant762@reddit

As long as they’re marked as “Alkaline” they’re all good. Lithium based AA batteries are probably the best, but much more expensive. All the ads compare with old zinc carbon batteries when they’re touting the benefits of their brand, never comparing two alkaline cells. The zinc carbon ones are often labelled as “heavy duty” or something and are usually what you find in the pound shop. Don’t buy these! (Except maybe to power the kids’ noisy and annoying Christmas toys)

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aufybusiness@reddit (OP)

Thanks :) I have bought these for toys xD. I need a stronger lasting one for the torches.

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Scarred_fish@reddit

Procell. Duracells industrial brand. Same performance without the expensive branding. Like CAT boots with steel toecaps.

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Martipar@reddit

Define "serious use"? I use rechargeables in all sorts of things and whether or not they last as long as a disposable battery isn't an issue because when they go flat I can swap them out with a fresh pair and put them on charge and i'm ready to go. It's a lot easier than finding out I need ot go to the shop if I run out.

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Scarred_fish@reddit

2 uses personally - I'm a musician so they need to last a 3-4hr gig reliably. Monitors, wireless connection and active pickups. At work we use them for remote weather sensors and traffic counters. Can get 3-4 weeks as opposed to 1 week or less.

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aufybusiness@reddit (OP)

Ooo cheers perfect thank you

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Accurate_Prompt_8800@reddit

Duracell. Energizer. Panasonic. What kind of question is this?

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aufybusiness@reddit (OP)

I do use rechargeable but need something stronger for this torch . Thank you.

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BriefAmphibian7925@reddit

What torch is it? In general a good NiMH (eg Eneloop or Eneloop Pro) will have more power than an alkaline. The initial voltage will be lower but the voltage will drop fairly quickly on an alkaline so for most of the runtime the NiMHs will likely be just as bright (or better). But more powerful torches tend to run on rechargeable lithiums nowadays, and if you want a bright torch I'd look for one of those. (Also some torches will run on an AA battery but also more strongly on a 14500. It's worth checking you don't have one of these, though don't just go putting a 14500 in a torch that isn't intended for it.)

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BriefAmphibian7925@reddit

Low self-discharge (aka "pre-charged") NiMH rechargeables are good replacements for most of the applications you'd otherwise use an alkaline cell. Even if you don't replace them very often the fact that they're far less prone to leaking than alkalines is good. For some applications where NiMH isn't good due to lower starting voltage there are 1.5v lithium rechargeable AAs now, though I haven't yet tried them myself. Other than that, in general I've found Energizer to be significantly less leak-prone than Duracell/Procell. Recently I've also been happy with GP Ultra (which are cheaper) but that's based on less experience.

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